This is a Test

Ch. 14

Cashe didn't know if it was the desired effect, but Alan knew how to draw out tension. After a sigh, the guy said, "From what Dee said, and she knows more about what goes on than I do, the purpose is to test to see how different teams react to the same scenario. However, most of the others are only four, and yours was to be the biggest with eleven, and the only one live streaming. They wanted to see how interpersonal discord affect routine operations and patterns, so Dee said." 

"If they needed interpersonal discord," Miranda asked, "did that mean that they expected drama?"

"Oh, yes." Alan laughed quietly before remembering his audience. He cleared his throat before continuing." This new group? Let's just say, you all were lucky they never showed up. They were all highly qualified experts in their fields, but all were, as Dee put it, workplace nightmares. Most are great at their jobs, but horrible with their co-workers."

"As an example?" 

Alan laughed again. "Oh, yeah. The engineer guy? Apparently, his every interaction with people involves talking about politics and religion, and trying to convert people to his side on both issues. The kid is super, super smart and knows it, and he doesn't listen to anybody. He didn't like something about the core programming of his company's infrastructure-something worked, so he went and re-wrote the whole thing over two weeks, deleted their version, and installed his own." Lia's hands flew through her mouth in shock. "Yeah, apparently, it may have made that particular system work better, but as all their other programs worked off that one, it caused a major crash, but his response was like, 'That's what you get when you use inferior systems.' or something like that.

"The chemist and the therapist? They met in a lab or some sort and both want to go to Mars. They dated, married, had a super bitter divorce, and now hate one another, but both still want to go. They cannot be in the same room with each other without a screaming match breaking out. Both swore that they would be the one to leave Earth first to show the other up, and they work for that sole goal. They were not going to know the other was in the group until they arrived here and took their helmets off in the room."

The happiness researcher had rage-issues? Wonderful.

Alan's smile grew wider. "But, the one we were all most looking forward to was the former model. She always liked guys when she was younger, and that didn't change when she got older, so she was known to be a little grabby with their backsides... and their fronts."

Cashe sat placidly, but was hit by a burst of horror. He couldn't imagine being in a workplace where he had to guard his loins from a horny senior citizen. Miranda was more stunned than all. "I don't know why they would do this to us. The last thing they would want is for disruptions with any project, especially with this one."

"It would make good TV," Dante muttered.

"That was part of it," Alan agreed. "Yes, but only a part of it. Dee's specialty is people management. She is..." He paused, as if trying to decide something, but smiled. "She is a psychiatrist and a top person in HR. Her job was to watch and make on-the-spot decisions as to which tests to push up and which to hold back on to cause the most tension for those here. I don't think she was supposed to tell us, but she got drunk one night and started talking."

"They warn researchers before they came here that they were being judged by Anoptica, but also, that their interactions would be broadcast all over the world. They wanted to know if the people that were on their candidate list would be able to control themselves under the high scrutiny of a Mars mission, which would have a lot more people watching. They estimated several billion people would watch the launch and any live streams, especially as they land. They expected most of the world to shut down for that moment, and wanted to create a pressure cooker to see who would pop."